Jewelry

Wide gold band with a D-shaped section, featuring two narrow grooves running along the outer hoop and creating raised rims. Engraved inside the hoop is the Latin inscription in capital letters AMOR VINC[I]T OMNIA (“Love conquers all”). The ring is slightly misshapen but remains in good, wearable condition.

Literature:

Posy rings derive their name from the term poésie, or poetry. These rings bear inscribed mottoes either in prose or verse. From the fifteenth century onward, such rings were known to be exchanged between lovers, friends and family members expressing affection, friendship, faith, or even New Year wishes. Early examples feature inscriptions engraved on the exterior of the band, while later examples—such as the present ring—conceal their mottoes inside the hoop with their personal messages known only to the giver and recipient. Posy rings are mentioned in the plays of William Shakespeare (1564–1616), including Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. They enjoyed enduring popularity throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly as betrothal and wedding rings.  

The Latin phrase AMOR VINCIT OMNIA (“Love conquers all”) goes back to the Roman poet Virgil (70–19 BC). It appears in the final lines of his tenth Eclogue, written around 37 BC. The original line in the pastoral poem reads: Omnia vincit amor: et nos cedamus amori (Eclogue 10.69), meaning “Love conquers all, so we too shall yield to love.” In art, literature, and jewelry, the abbreviated forms AMOR VINCIT OMNIA or OMNIA VINCIT AMOR have become among the most frequently used quotations in both ecclesiastical and secular contexts.

The motto is frequently found on medieval rings and ring-brooches, such as examples in the British Museum, London (Dalton 1912, no. 960; inv. no. AF.2687) and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Church 2017, p. 13, no. 5). It appears most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, written around 1390, where the Prioress is described in the Prologue as wearing a brooch inscribed Amor Vincit Omnia.

For variants of this motto found on posy rings, see Evans 1931, p. 1. Unlike the plain bands typical of most posies, the present ring features a profiled rim border, comparable to an example in the British Museum (Dalton 1912, no. 1323). The ring was likely given as an expression of love, perhaps as a token of affection or even as a betrothal or marriage ring.

For a history of posy rings, with extensive examples ranging from the medieval period to the eighteenth century, see Scarisbrick 2021. Additional references on posies include Evans 1931; A Garland of Love: A Collection of Posy-Ring Mottoes, London 1907; Dalton 1912, pp. 174 ff.; Scarisbrick 2007, pp. 74 ff.; Taylor and Scarisbrick 1978; and Oman 1974, pp. 39 ff.

R-1119